A Rugby man has beaten off competition from hundreds of catering students to win a place on a prestigious new cookery training scheme.

John Robinson, from Bath Road, Rugby, has been chosen to become an apprentice on the first Corus Hotels Chef School training scheme at the Brownsover Hall Hotel, in Old Brownsover, near Rugby.

The apprenticeship is one of 20 being offered at hotels across the country by Corus, which hopes to develop a new generation of talented British chefs by giving them the chance to work under top caterers.

John, who started his career by washing up at the Brownsover Hall Hotel, said he was delighted: "This is something that I have been wanting to do for ages.

"I love cooking and now I have the chance to turn a hobby into a career. "I'm getting lots of tips from all the chefs and am really enjoying my time here."

Gary Stothard, head chef at the Brownsover Hall Hotel, said: "John has demonstrated the ability, commitment and enthusiasm required to succeed in this challenging industry and we are delighted to welcome him to our hotel.

"The lack of trained chefs in the UK has forced Corus hotels to recruit professionals from overseas in recent times. We are very excited to be able to nurture home-grown talent through the Chef School."